This disclosure relates generally to connectors for optical fibers, and more particularly to fiber optic connectors for push-pull latching.
Optical fibers are useful in a wide variety of applications, including the telecommunications industry for voice, video, and data transmissions. In a telecommunications system that uses optical fibers, there are typically many locations where fiber optic cables that carry the optical fibers connect to equipment or other fiber optic cables. To conveniently provide these connections, optical connectors are often provided on the ends of fiber optic cables. The process of terminating individual optical fibers from a fiber optic cable is referred to as “connectorization.” Connectorization can be done in a factory, resulting in a “pre-connectorized” or “pre-terminated” fiber optic cable, or the field (e.g., using a “field-installable” connectors).
Many different types of optical connectors exist. In environments that require high density interconnects and/or high bandwidth, such as data centers, multi-fiber optical connectors are the most widely used. One example is the multi-fiber push on (MPO) connector, which includes a push-pull latch, incorporates a mechanical transfer (MT) ferrule, and is standardized according to TOA-604-5 and IEC 61754-7. These connectors can achieve a very high density of optical fibers, which reduces the amount of hardware, space, and effort to establish a large number of interconnects.
To engage a standard MPO connector in a standard adapter, an inner housing of the connector must be pushed in order to allow an outer, one-piece slider of the connector to move rearward against its springs so that latches of the adapter insert into latch receptacles of the housing. If the one-piece slider is accidentally pushed while trying to engage the connector in the adapter, the one-piece slider butts against the latches and prevents insertion of the latches into the latch receptacles of the housing, which prevents proper engagement (e.g., latching) between the connector and the adapter.